Skills Gap Triggers Costly Job Vacancies

A lack of qualified workers is leading to a large number of job vacancies that are proving costly to companies, according to a recent survey from CareerBuilder. In fact, organizations lose an average of $14,000 for every position that stays vacant for three months or longer, and one in six companies loses $25,00 or more due to job vacancies. This is having a big impact on the IT department in particular because 71 percent of employers say that jobs related to computers and math are among the hardest to fill with suitable candidates. As a result, CareerBuilder is working with companies such as Randstad, Bosch and Cisco to support programs that will better prepare future generations of workers for technology careers. "The skills gap [isn't] going away anytime soon," says Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of The Talent Equation. "There is a growing disconnect between the skills employers need and the skills that are being cultivated in the labor market today. This causes workers and companies to miss out on realizing their full potential and, in turn, causes the economy to fall short of its potential." A total of 1,025 employers, 1,524 job seekers and 205 representatives from academia took part in the research.

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Vacated Position

54% of employers have open positions for which they can't find qualified candidates, and 35% have positions that stay open for 12 weeks or longer.